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Eller Business Plan


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by the way, who is eller??

Go look in my photo gallery.

I have a bunch of pictures of one of their prototypes.

 

Here are a couple

 

gallery_304_39_62476.jpg

 

gallery_304_39_139206.jpg

 

Click here and you can learn a bit about what could have been.

Edited by Last Resort
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Eller has been talked about on this forum since it began.

 

They were the ones who were suppose to get Indian from the courts back in 1998 but Block, the court appointed receiver, allegedly made some sort of back room deal with the Canadian and he canned the SIGNED deal that was made with Eller and handed it over to the Canadians (headed by Murray Smith).

 

Eller had finished rolling chassies of the Chief and resin models of the engine. They had a line on a in-line four engine for an other bike. And the had concepts for a Scout and a Warrior.

 

Lots of the old posts were lost during the many crashes that happened with the old software so the earliest mention I can find was here, back on Dec. 22 2003.

 

On the Iron Indian Riders forum they have a section dedicated to Indian history back to 1995 when Philip Zanghi was busted for selling his pot of fools gold. And, at the same time Wayne Baughman was "bringing Indian back" in New Mexico. Both these guys got in big trouble for their games.

Edited by Last Resort
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This is the wooden mock up that came out of New Mexico from Wayne Baughman.

 

indcentside.jpg

 

I think he got two prototypes running, sort of.

But the long arm of the law grabbed him

 

 

 

This web site gives a good overview of what happened "Indian" after 1953

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Eller bike was too retro for me....i woulda-- and one day will-- have gotten a springfield if that's what i wanted..gilroy got the contemporary chief rt in my book..and look at the PP100, and look at that engine in the eller....no comparison in my book..

eric

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Well, the bike was what it was. I like my fenders outboard of the frame too but you can see the logic of Eller's updates to the Hendee. Who can say though? Maybe Gilroy came up with a closer design to what Springfield would have arrived at. It's not so ugly to me but I'm partial to the beast in my shed.

 

Hindsight bein 20/20 who knows but if Eller had held the day, we might not have gone through the gyrations of the last few years. Maybe maybe maybe...

 

The Eller pitch that JW tried to post is worth the read. It makes some assumptions and it's general in nature but I came away thinking that Eller's view of what Indian Motorcycle would have been under his ownership was far closer to my heart than anything I ever heard out of Gilroy or have heard yet from KM. He aimed high, but he promoted the bike as something for everyman. He nailed the uniquely American thread of independent thought and personal freedom and his basic inference was not concocted exclusivity but that the machine could find owners at all stations in life. A chicken in every pot and two Indians in every garage.

 

More's the pity.

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i don't see anything so special about the eller "bike" he tried too hard to make it look like the chiefs of old. he added a springer front end (not really a springer though) and a mockup of a engine that means absolutely nothing. nothing really cutting edge. the canadians, while even less ground breaking....had a real motorcycle. made gilroy made a beautiful bike. they just lacked a "bit" in the QC dept. it may well had never got off the ground had eller won out. you never know.

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Eller's bike would have made it just fine...He had the nation's best executive on his team. Robert Lutz...You know the guy who saved Chrysler and now GM...With a leader like that she would have been biggest restart in motorcycle history! Bob Lutz is simply the best.

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the wood engined prototype went on ebay not too long ago. Didn't go for too much either. That would be qute the conversation piece to have

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